More than 80,000 heart attack victims die each year before reaching hospital but this figure could be dramatically reduced if more people were trained in emergency life support skills.

These skills (ELS), could help keep someone alive until professional medical assistance arrives.

Statistics show that while people are keen to stop and help, more than half don't feel confident enough to carry out the life-saving technique, CPR.

Training can take as little as two hours but could mean the difference between life and death.

Only two to three per cent of people who suffer cardiac arrest outside a hospital survive.

For people like Dean Bowden, 14, from Selsey, the idea of having someone close at hand who can provide support at once is vital.

The teenager has a genetic heart condition, which means he could suffer a sudden heart attack at any time.

The quicker he gets treatment, the greater his chances of survival.

Adrian Clark, national co-ordinator for Heartstart UK, a branch of the National Heart Foundation which works at encouraging people to learn basic first aid, said:

There are simply not enough people in Britain trained in ELS and this means many people could be dying because no-one is able to keep them alive before the experts arrive.

"Giving CPR to someone in cardiac arrest doubles their chances of survival."

The BHF says it is likely the person who may need help will be a friend or a family member and it is important to learn the basic skills to be a life-saver so they can take over.

ELS is a vital part of the "chain of survival" a sequence of events that includes recognising the early warning signs, getting expert help by calling 999, carrying out CPR and "shocking" the heart with a defibrillator.

Charles Slaven, 58, was recently saved by staff at his local gym when he collapsed with a heart attack.

He said: "I am only alive today because onlookers knew about ELS."

Sussex Olympic swimming legend Duncan Goodhew also knew exactly what to do when MP Robert Sheldon suffered a heart attack and collapsed in a London park.

Mr Goodhew, of Yapton, near Bognor, got a passer-by to do the heart massage while he gave Mr Sheldon mouth to mouth.

Mr Goodhew said: "I carried out CPR until the ambulance arrived.

It was a massive relief when the ambulance crews managed to start his heart."

In Brighton, the organisation Heartguard helps people learn how to carry out first aid.

It runs hundreds of emergency life-support training courses in Sussex every year and, since its formation in 1978, has trained more than 83,000 people.

People are taught to recognise the signs of a heart attack and how to respond.

They are also told how to recognise strokes and deal with an unconscious person.

Heartguard administrator John May said: "What we are trying to do is raise people's awareness and teach them how to cope in an emergency.

There is absolutely no doubt these courses have been instrumental in saving lives."

Michael Havers from Worthing has taken part in one of the Heartguard courses.

He said: "Before, I would have been absolutely useless if someone had collapsed in front of me but, now, I like to think that I will be able to do much more."

Basic first aid has also become more sophisticated saver with the introduction of small defibrillators at locations throughout the county.

The machines are small electronic devices which deliver electric shocks to cardiac-arrest victims to improve their survival chances.

They can now be found in places such as Gatwick Airport, the Bluebell Railway and Churchill Square Shopping Centre in Brighton.

Staff at each location are specially trained to use the machines.

For details about Heartguard courses, call 01273 676439.